The crime of theft of the statue of Pushkin occurred sometime between Friday and Saturday a week ago, according to the local government of Hemer, a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which on June 30 offered €1,000 ($1,140) for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators.
The Russian Embassy called the theft “unsettling,” stressing that the monument “has for years served as a symbol of the importance of Russian cultural legacy in Germany.” Diplomats from the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and members of the Russian-German community visited the site in the town park last month.
The monument was a gift from Shchyolkovo, Hemer’s sister town in Russia, and was created by local artist Grigory Pototsky. It was unveiled in September 1994.
